Argentina – Saturday 2nd April
Circuit: Termas de Río Hondo
Circuit Length: 4.8 km
Circuit Length: 4.8 km
Bike #84 – Jakub Kornfeil
QP: P15; 1’50.753 – 13 laps
QP: P15; 1’50.753 – 13 laps
Bike #7 – Adam Norrodin
QP: P17; 1’50.958 – 15 laps
QP: P17; 1’50.958 – 15 laps
With slightly cooler conditions following overnight rain at the South American circuit, DRIVE M7 SIC Racing Team riders Jakub Kornfeil and Adam Norrodin pushed hard to achieve targets and make progress in today’s qualifying session.
Lining up on row five for tomorrow’s Moto3 Grand Prix, Jakub Kornfeil concluded the day feeling positive about his progress made on board the #84 machine. Having struggled throughout all three practice sessions, the Czech rider was elated when his team found the answer to his previous issues. Feeling more comfortable and confident, the 22-year-old worked hard to improve his rhythm around the 4.8km circuit. Setting his quickest time of the weekend on his first lap of qualifying and concluding the session in 15th place, Kornfeil is positive he can make the start he needs to battle with the leaders in tomorrow’s 21 lap race.
Making steady progress throughout the weekend, rookie Adam Norrodin showed off his increasing confidence as he pushed hard to fight his way into a top twenty position. Improving ten places on his previous grid positon in Qatar, the young Malay impressed as he secured a solid 17th place on row six for tomorrow’s Argentina Grand Prix.
Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager
“Adam did really well in QP today. Our target for him was top twenty and he managed to qualify in 17th and did a very good lap time. He listened well and did exactly what we asked from him. We spoke about pushing for a better start position to make it easier for him in the race tomorrow and that’s what he did. For sure it will be a tough race with many riders together so he will need to be strong and hard fighting but I think he can do this well. He is happy with his bike; the set-up looks good and we’re not going to change anything, just work on the race strategy for tomorrow.
For Jakub it was a very tough start to the day in FP3 but he came back better for qualifying. Position wise we’re not that happy but we’re are pleased with the step we made with the bike in terms of performance. We’re not far off and we know Jakub is a much better racer than a qualifier, so I’m confident that he will make a good start and be with the front group tomorrow.”
“Adam did really well in QP today. Our target for him was top twenty and he managed to qualify in 17th and did a very good lap time. He listened well and did exactly what we asked from him. We spoke about pushing for a better start position to make it easier for him in the race tomorrow and that’s what he did. For sure it will be a tough race with many riders together so he will need to be strong and hard fighting but I think he can do this well. He is happy with his bike; the set-up looks good and we’re not going to change anything, just work on the race strategy for tomorrow.
For Jakub it was a very tough start to the day in FP3 but he came back better for qualifying. Position wise we’re not that happy but we’re are pleased with the step we made with the bike in terms of performance. We’re not far off and we know Jakub is a much better racer than a qualifier, so I’m confident that he will make a good start and be with the front group tomorrow.”
#84 Jakub Kornfeil
“Finally in qualifying we made a big step forward and I’m happy for this. All throughout the practice sessions I was struggling on the bike and everyone could see this from the positions we were in. For QP we were able to improve the setting and I could push more; immediately my first lap of the qualifying was my fastest lap of the weekend, so I just tried to keep focused and I moved up to eighth position. Everything really counts in the final ten minutes, so you save your best for this time. I tried to go out with a group but unfortunately this didn’t help me, so in the end I did my quickest time alone. Our pace is there and I know I can do 1m50s lap times quite comfortably. I feel a lot more comfortable on the bike now and my rhythm is better, so I’m positive we can be competitive in the race. I just have to push hard, not miss the first few laps and try to do the best results I can; with this bike, for sure I can aim for a top five finish.”
“Finally in qualifying we made a big step forward and I’m happy for this. All throughout the practice sessions I was struggling on the bike and everyone could see this from the positions we were in. For QP we were able to improve the setting and I could push more; immediately my first lap of the qualifying was my fastest lap of the weekend, so I just tried to keep focused and I moved up to eighth position. Everything really counts in the final ten minutes, so you save your best for this time. I tried to go out with a group but unfortunately this didn’t help me, so in the end I did my quickest time alone. Our pace is there and I know I can do 1m50s lap times quite comfortably. I feel a lot more comfortable on the bike now and my rhythm is better, so I’m positive we can be competitive in the race. I just have to push hard, not miss the first few laps and try to do the best results I can; with this bike, for sure I can aim for a top five finish.”
#7 Adam Norrodin
“I feel really good after qualifying. In this weather it is quite hard and it’s been pretty tough this weekend because of the conditions, but still we have been consistently improving since FP1 and this is what is important. There wasn’t as much grip in qualifying today and there were a few crashes but we continued to push and we were able to improve. I think we can do even better in the race with a good feeling on the bike and good motivation. We know more or less our race pace and our time is not so far from the top, so maybe I can try to go with the first group.”
“I feel really good after qualifying. In this weather it is quite hard and it’s been pretty tough this weekend because of the conditions, but still we have been consistently improving since FP1 and this is what is important. There wasn’t as much grip in qualifying today and there were a few crashes but we continued to push and we were able to improve. I think we can do even better in the race with a good feeling on the bike and good motivation. We know more or less our race pace and our time is not so far from the top, so maybe I can try to go with the first group.”
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